May 15, 2008

9 comments:

Imus reported that Bush gave up Chinese checkers because of the earthquake, and turned off his pool heater because of the Burma floods ;in addition to the reported not playing golf on account of the war.

"Adults are so busy imagining the ways that technology can improve classroom learning or improve the public debate that they've blinded themselves to the collective dumbing down that is actually taking place. The kids are using their technological advantage to immerse themselves in a trivial, solipsistic, distracting online world at the expense of more enriching activities – like opening a book or writing complete sentences.

Mr. Bauerlein presents a wealth of data to show that young people, with the aid of digital media, are intensely focusing on themselves, their peers and the present moment. YouTube and MySpace, he says, are revealingly named: These and other top Web destinations are "peer to peer" environments in the sense that their juvenile users have populated them with predictably juvenile content. The sites where students spend most of their time "harden adolescent styles and thoughts, amplifying the discourse of the lunchroom and keg party, not spreading the works of the Old Masters."

I dunno...maybe Bush should get a pass on his insertion of 'the' in front of Google and internet. It's a common usage.

We surf the web. Walk the dog. Go to the store. Check out the knockers on that girl. Eat at the restaurant. Go to the park. Read the newspaper. Post a comment on the Althouse blog. Listen to the radio. Laugh at the joke. Attend the church of our choice. Vote for the candidate we most like. And so forth.